The Relationship of Hezekiah to David and Solomon in the Books of Chronicles (original) (raw)

Given the scholarly consensus expressed above by Japhet, what is the relationship between the Chronicler's three royal luminaries: David, Solomon, and Hezekiah? 2 The portrayal of Hezekiah in 2 Chronicles 29-32 comes at a crucial juncture in the Chronicler's presentation. This is indicated, in part, by the extent to which he diverges from his Vorlage, 2 Kings 18-20. 3 Nearly all commentators draw attention to the fact that 2 Kings and Isaiah devote the bulk of their accounts to such political matters as Sennacherib's invasion, Hezekiah's illness, and the Babylonian intrigue to elicit Hezekiah's support against Assyria (2 Kgs 18.9-20.19// * An earlier version of this study was presented in a special session of the 'Chronicles-Ezra-Nehemiah Section' of the SBL (Chicago, 1988) and appeared as 'Hezekiah in the Books of Chronicles', in D.J. Lull (ed.), Society of Biblical Literature I 988 Seminar Papers (SBLSP, 27; Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1988), pp. 302-11, at the request of Ralph Klein. It is a pleasure to dedicate this version to Ralph-friend, colleague, fellow Lutheran ... and my mother's 'favorite adult forum speaker'. l. S. Japhet, I and II Chronicles (OIL; Louisville, KY: Westminster/John Knox Press, 1993), p. 912. 2. In this study, 'the Chronicler' will be used to designate the anonymous author of l-2 Chronicles, a work composed in Jerusalem sometime during the Persian Period. The book of Ezra-Nehemiah, while sharing some of the concerns of the Chronicler and coming from roughly the same time, is from a different hand. For a concise treatment of these issues, see R.W. Klein, 'Chronicles, Book of l-2', in ABD, I, pp. 992-1002. 3. See the helpful synoptic comparisons in Hezekiah in Chronicles and Kings